Mount Olive rallies for league win over Bobcats

Nov 08, 2013

BANNER ELK, N.C. --- The Mount Olive College women's volleyball team rallied from a pair of deficits in the first and second sets while tallying 10 service aces en route to a 3-0 victory over Lees-McRae College in Conference Carolinas play on Friday evening.

Mount Olive (14-14, 10-7 CC) won the match by scores of 25-17, 25-21, and 25-11, posting 32 kills and attacking at a .200 clip, while holding Lees-McRae (2-28, 0-17 CC) to 25 smashes and a hitting percentage of .046. The Trojans recorded 36 digs and seven blocks as the Bobcats dug out 38 Mount Olive attacks.

Avalon Liscio (Naples, Fla.) led the way for Lees-McRae with a match-high 10 kills and three blocks, as Molly Corhn (Hendersonville, N.C.) nearly posted a double-double with 22 assists and a match-high nine digs. Haydn Beatty (Norman, Okla.) and Jordan Banta (Virginia Beach, Va.) added six and five smashes, respectively, while Haylee Leonard (Wallburg, N.C.) chipped in seven digs and five blocks (one solo, four assists).

Alysha Tyms-Burnett and Lauren Lee each tallied eight kills to pace the Trojans, as Tyms-Burnett posted a match-high .368 hitting percentage. Carly White added six smashes and a match-high six block assists, while Elyse Keating chipped in a contest-best 27 assists. Lee posted a match-high four aces.

The Bobcats jumped out to an early 10-5 lead in the first set, following a 6-1 run with a Liscio ace. The Trojans answered, fighting back with a 12-4 surge to claim a 17-14 advantage. Mount Olive parlayed the spurt into a first set victory, closing out the frame with five straight points to take a 1-0 lead in the match.

Lees-McRae battled back in the second, rallying from an early 4-2 deficit to take a 14-11 lead following an ace from Liscio. The Trojans countered with an 11-6 run, snatching a narrow 22-20 advantage with a Jordan Barnes ace before capping the frame following a kill from Lee.

Mount Olive carried the momentum into the third set, opening the frame with a 9-2 run that was capped by a block from White and Sarah Watkins. The Trojans would stretch the margin to 19-8 with a 10-6 spurt, before closing out the frame and the match on a kill by White.

Lees-McRae returns to the court on Saturday afternoon when the Bobcats host Barton College in their regular season finale in Williams Gymnasium. First serve is slated for 2 p.m. following the Bobcats' senior day festivities.